After a rough start to the season, the Oilers have pulled it together somewhat and are now clinched to be playing hockey in the spring. It was ugly at times, but they made it. Now the question is, are the Oilers better off not winning the division?
Dumbest playoff format on Earth
Due to the NHL's stubbornness to maintain their division based playoff formating, the matchups come playoff time sometimes dont represent the actual regular season record of a team. Currently, if the payoff were to begin today, the Oilers would be playing the Ducks who sit at 89 points with a -14 goal differential. Anaheim can score goals but they give up a ton, kinda like the Oilers, but Edmonton has a +9 differential.
Should the Oilers win the division, they would most likely play the Utah Mammoth who have 90 points (lol) and a +31 differential. They are a nightmare to play against and only three other teams have given up less goals this season. These boys are built for the playoffs and their pick up of MacKenzie Weeger has only made them better and more dangerous.
If I had a choice, and it's looking likely that Draisaitl will not be available to begin the playoffs, I would take the Ducks in a heartbeat. It would be easier to navigate the loss of Leon's offence against a young, defensively suspect team like the Ducks. Ironically enough, only 3 other teams in the NHL have given up more goals than the Ducks.
I'm not saying Edmonton can't beat Utah, but since the NHL wishes to continue with this insanity, finishing a lower seed is actually an advantage in this case.